All galaxies in the Universe remain in motion. At the really largest scales this motion is dominated by what astronomers call the Hubble circulation, which is simply the basic growth of deep space. This causes most galaxies to decline far from each other. However at anything less than fully cosmological scales, there can be additional motion on top of that. For example, the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxies are on an accident course, and they will merge together in about 5 billion years.
Merger, our 2 galaxies, along with all the other galaxies in our regional group, are hurrying towards the Virgo cluster, which is the nearby cluster of galaxies to us.
Something big lurks in the shadows of deep space. Referred to as the Great Attractor, it is causing the Milky Way and all the surrounding galaxies to hurry towards it. We would typically have a better understanding of this scenario, except for the truth that the Great Attractor takes place to depend on the direction behind the galactic bulge, which makes it challenging for us to observe. A group of astronomers have carried out a new infrared survey of the region behind the bulge, and they have actually discovered yet another large galaxy cluster. Their work is assisting to paint a more total portrait of the environment of the Great Attractor.
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However it doesnt stop there. The local group, the Virgo cluster, and all the other groups and clusters in the close-by region of area are headed in one instructions together. Astronomers call the center point of this movement the Great Attractor, due to the fact that it seems to be the biggest source of gravity in our regional cosmological environment.
It so happens by pure dumb luck that the Great Attractor beings in the direction of our sky behind the galactic bulge. This region of the sky is called the Zone of Avoidance, due to the fact that its very difficult for optical telescopes to pierce the thick clouds of dust and gas in this area to establish a clear map of whats behind it..
Our only hope is to use other wavelengths of light that can penetrate gas and dust more easily. Among those wavelengths is infrared. Infrared studies in this routine is a really challenging job, and so our maps in this region of the universe are insufficient.
The team of astronomers have attempted a brand-new study of the area with the Gemini South Telescope, specifically targeting a half lots galaxies within the Zone of Avoidance. They discovered that the galaxies in their survey were most likely to be related to each other. Its the first proof we have that these galaxies might be a member of a much larger cluster of galaxies.
This cluster of galaxies isnt the Great Attractor itself, however it is certainly associated with it. Additional observations will ideally paint a more thorough photo of this new galaxy cluster and its environments, and determine its relationship to the Great Attractor.
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Understood as the Great Attractor, it is triggering the Milky Way and all the surrounding galaxies to hurry towards it. A group of astronomers have performed a brand-new infrared survey of the area behind the bulge, and they have actually found yet another large galaxy cluster. All galaxies in the Universe are in movement. The team of astronomers have attempted a new survey of the region with the Gemini South Telescope, particularly targeting a half dozen galaxies within the Zone of Avoidance. Its the very first proof we have that these galaxies may be a member of a much bigger cluster of galaxies.